End of the Road! (US)

2012-08-17T03:22:36Z

65.60.228.229: /* Quotes */

{{disambig3|End of the Road}}
{{Comicstory|
|seriesissue=[[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''The Transformers'' (US)]] #80
|prev=The Last Autobot?
|next=Unfoldings!
|next2=Counterpoint
|seriesissue3=[[The Transformers (Marvel comic)#Marvel UK|''The Transformers'' (UK)]] #331–332
|prev3=The Last Autobot?
|next3=Another Time & Place
|title="End of the Road!"
|image=MarvelUS-80.jpg
|caption="I am victorious! Is there any who can challenge [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]?!"<br />"[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Me]]."<br />"...Oh, [[Slag (slang)|slag]]."
|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]]
|date=May [[1991]]
|coverdate=July 1991
|writer=[[Simon Furman]]
|penciler=[[Andrew Wildman]]
|inker=[[Stephen Baskerville]]
|colorist=[[Nelson Yomtov|Nel Yomtov]]
|letterer=[[Rick Parker]]
|editor=[[Rob Tokar]]
|continuity=[[Marvel Comics continuity]]
}}

'''All good things...'''

==Synopsis==
Sometime after the end of the last issue, the [[Autobot]]s '''came''' to [[Klo]], '''saw''' a [[Decepticon]], and were '''conquered'''. As [[Octopunch (G1)|Octopunch]] leads a tracker team to hunt down the remaining survivors, [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] is trying to keep the last five Autobots alive. Unfortunately for him, [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] is one of the survivors, and spares no breath berating Grimlock for the situation. It seems the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] were led into an obvious trap upon the Autobots' arrival on Klo, and the resulting melee was a slaughter. Prowl's pontificating is cut short when [[Fangry]] leads the hunting party to double-back, and the Decepticons move in for the kill.

Back at the scene of the first battle, [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] is about to administer another execution when he and his warriors are suddenly caught off guard by the arriving [[Neo-Knights]]. The Decepticons quickly learn that the [[human]]s were only the first wave, and onto the battlefield drops the second wave—[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]], alive and kicking. Despite Bludgeon's disbelieving cries, Prime is indeed back, and he introduces his new friend, the legendary [[Last Autobot]]. The child of [[Primus]] relates how he first encountered [[Hi-Q]] and the Neo-Knights on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], and reformatted the [[Nebulan]] into a [[Nucleon]]-enhanced [[Action Master]] version of Optimus Prime.

The Decepticons dogpile on Optimus Prime, but prove less than effective. What's more, the Last Autobot begins using his powers to reanimate all of the fallen Autobots, increasing their forces by the minute. As Grimlock and his group of survivors charge over the hillside, the tide of battle quickly turns towards the Autobots, and Bludgeon's troops are put to retreat. As Bludgeon proclaims he will lead his troops into the voluntary exile that honor demands, he quietly tells [[Stranglehold]] to gather their forces, to live to fight another day.

As the Autobots wrap up, Optimus Prime informs his brethren that [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] survives, restored by the Last Autobot's power and the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] energy that washed over the planet in the final battle with [[Unicron]]. The Autobots prepare to help the [[Klozian]]s rebuild, take the Neo-Knights home and, finally, return to their home planet for a new era of peace and enlightenment.

[['Til all are one]].

{{note|This story is continued in several mutually-exclusive directions:''
*The UK Annual story "[[Another Time & Place]]".
*The ''[[G.I. Joe (comic)|G.I. Joe]]'' issue "[[Unfoldings!]]", leading into the ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (Marvel)|Generation 2]]'' series.
*The [[Fun Publications]] story "[[Crossing Over, Part 1]]".
*The [[IDW Publishing]] miniseries ''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One]]''.

'''''It never ends!'''''}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Getaway]] (1)
*[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] (8)
*[[Slapdash (G1)|Slapdash]] (9)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (10)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (11)
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (12)
*[[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (13)
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (14)
*[[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (15)
*[[Siren]] (16)
*[[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] (21)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (22)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (23)
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (24)
*[[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (25)
*[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (26)
*[[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] (27)
*[[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] (28)
*[[Last Autobot]] (29)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] (32)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] (33)
|c2=
*[[Dreadwing (G1)|Dreadwing]] (2)
*[[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] (3)
*[[Battletrap]] (4)
*[[Snapdragon (G1)|Snapdragon]] (5)
*[[Crankcase (G1)|Crankcase]] (6)
*[[Stranglehold]] (7)
*[[Fangry]] (17)
*[[Quake (G1)|Quake]] (18)
*[[Weirdwolf]] (19)
*[[Octopunch (G1)|Octopunch]] (20)
*[[Horri-Bull]] (37)
*[[Squeezeplay]] (38)
*[[Skullcruncher]] (39)
|c3=
*[[Thunderpunch]] (29)
*[[Dynamo]] (30)
*[[Rapture]] (31)
*[[G.B. Blackrock]] (35)
*[[Circuit Breaker]] (36)
|h4=[[Nebulan]]s
|c4=
*[[Hi-Q]] (34)
}}

==Quotes==
"Do you not understand? [[Furmanism|It's OVER—FINISHED!]]"
:—'''Bludgeon''', executing Siren

"As it was foretold, so it came to pass. But [[Hi-Q|the chosen one]]... was something of a surprise. Until I saw that there was [[More than Meets the Eye (disambiguation)|more to this tiny being than met the eye]]."
:—The '''Last Autobot'''

"And now... it is time for this mindless war to cease. It is [[Furmanism|done, finished.]]"
:—The '''Last Autobot'''

"ENOUGH! Do you not understand, Decepticons? [[Furmanism|It is over—FINISHED!]]"
:—'''Optimus Prime''', in a mockery of Bludgeon

"For me, personally, [[Furmanism|it never ends!]]"
:—'''Simon Furman''', giving mixed messages as he concludes the letters page

==Notes==
*Optimus Prime appears in his Action Master design, but Nucleon is not explicitly mentioned here as being a part of his transformation. However, Hi-Q absorbed energy during Grimlock's metamorphosis to Action Master form in "[[Still Life!]]", an indirect appropriation of Nucleon that is confirmed in Transformers UK Annual #7, "[[Another Time & Place]]".
*If a (Fill in the Blank)master is killed with their partner, could the Last Autobot still resurrect them?
*Apparently Crankcase is perfectly fine surviving without a head.
*With typical Marvel humor, this issue is billed as '''#80''' in a [[The Transformers Four-Issue Limited Series|'''four-issue''' limited series]].
*Nobody gets the final US cover corner box; instead, an orange and yellow beveled [[Decepticon]] [[Insignia|insignia]] appears here, contrasting the [[Autobot]] symbol featured in the cover's logo.
*Simon Furman's "send-off" message at the end of the issue claims that this will almost certainly mark the end of the Transformers franchise, but that he hopes to continue to write stories about the Neo-Knights. Wonder how that turned out?
*Game over, man—game over.

===Covers===
<gallery>
Image:MarvelUS-80.jpg|'''US issue #80''' - Wheeljack never gets a break.
Image:MarvelUK-331.jpg|'''UK issue #331''' - All action, no [[Powermaster|'Master]].
Image:MarvelUK-332.jpg|'''UK issue #332''' - It's the end... but the moment has been prepared for.
Image:End of the road tpb cover.jpg|'''Titan Books ''End of the Road'' TPB'''
Image:Titan-EndOfTheRoadHC.jpg|'''Titan Books ''End of the Road'' HC'''
Image:Classic Transformers Vol6.jpg|'''IDW Classic Transformers Volume 6 TPB'''
Image:RG1 76-80 100pgSpectacular.jpg|'''IDW ''Regeneration One'' 100 Page Spectacular Cover A'''
Image:RG1 76-80 100pgSpectacular B.jpg|'''IDW ''Regeneration One'' 100 Page Spectacular Cover B'''
</gallery>
*'''US cover:''' Bludgeon about to dismember Wheeljack by [[Andrew Wildman]].
*'''UK issue #331 cover:''' Optimus Prime by Andrew Wildman; recolored version of page 12 of the story.
*'''UK issue #332 cover:''' recolored version of US cover.
*'''Titan Books ''End of the Road'' TPB:''' Galvatron, Grimlock, Bludgeon, Prowl and half of Unicron, by Andrew Wildman
*'''Titan Books ''End of the Road'' HC:''' Galvatron and generic Decepticons, by [[Bryan Hitch]], [[Andrew Currie]] & [[Chris Blythe]]
*'''''Classic Transformers'' Volume 6 TPB:''' A scrapbook of images from issues 76-80, all by Andrew Wildman and Stephen Baskerville
*'''IDW ''Regeneration One 100 Page Spectacular'' Cover A:''' Action Master Grimlock smashes
*'''IDW ''Regeneration One 100 Page Spectacular'' Cover B:''' Hi-Q writhes in pain with the memories of Optimus Prime, surrounded by (anti-clockwise from top) The Last Autobot, Grimlock, Prowl, Ratchet, Galvatron, Fortress Maximus, Shockwave, Megatron and Bludgeon

===Advertisements===
*None yet identified.

===Reprints===
*[[2002]] — ''[[Transformers: End of the Road]]''
*[[2010]] — ''[[Classic Transformers Volume 6]]''
*[[2012]] — ''[[Transformers: Regeneration One 100-Page Spectacular]]''

[[Category:Marvel US issues]]
[[Category:Marvel UK issues]]

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End of the Road! (US)